Shortstop Jeremy Peña suffered a fracture in the tip of his right ring finger and will be reevaluated in two weeks, the Astros announced Thursday.
Peña, who is part of the Dominican Republic’s team in this year’s World Baseball Classic, will miss the tournament and could be out for Opening Day, which is 22 days away.
He sustained the injury in the third inning of Wednesday’s exhibition contest against the Tigers in the Dominican Republic after fielding a ground ball hit by Detroit outfielder Wenceel Pérez.
The 2022 World Series MVP could be seen inspecting his finger multiple times after recording the out, and he left the game after taking one more at-bat.
The injury paves the way for Diamondbacks All-Star Geraldo Perdomo to take over at shortstop, with Yankees utilityman Amed Rosario also an option.
Dominican Republic general manager and former MLB slugger Nelson Cruz said that an injury replacement for Peña would be announced shortly, per ESPN.
While the loss of Peña is a crusher, D.R’s star-studded squad still boasts Mets star Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Junior Caminero, Ketel Marte and Julio Rodriguez.
The Dominican Republic is set to kick off the tournament on Friday night against Nicaragua in a Pool D matchup.
Peña, 28, is coming off a banner year in Houston, which saw him make his first career All-Star team while finishing 10th in American League Most Valuable Player voting.
In 125 games, he slashed .304/.363/.477 with 17 home runs, 62 RBIs and 20 stolen bases despite missing time with a fractured rib.
In the interim, Peña’s injury actually eases a logjam in the Astros’ infield.
Third baseman/outfielder Isaac Paredes, who has been floated in trade rumors all offseason, could see regular playing time to open the season in Peña’s absence.
Carlos Correa, currently slotted in at the hot corner, could shift back to his familiar shortstop position, which temporarily opens a spot for Paredes.
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